A Different CNY During Covid

Today is the fourth day of Stage 4 Snap Lockdown in Melbourne and it is also the fifth day of Chinese New Year. As usual, there is not much new year atmosphere in Australia as it is not a public holiday. This ‘quiet’ atmosphere is magnified this year due to the snap lockdown. Everyone were told to work from home during this five days restrictions. As I look outside my window, there is hardly any car on the road as traveling are only allowed within 5km radius of where we live.

Watching the news for the past week made me realize that I am not the only one who is unable to be with our family back in Malaysia. There are a lot of Malaysians stranded in Taiwan, US, Europe and even those working in Singapore are unable to ‘balik kampung’ (go back hometown literally). Knowing that there are others who are suffering the same fate does not take away the frustration of not being able to go home. Although the authorities and experts keep telling us that we will be back to the so called ‘New Normal’ very soon, it does not help to remove the doubt at the back of our mind whether there is a normal to be looking forward to. The fact is that no one knows when we can get back to normal as each countries is at different position of how well they handle Covid cases.

The pandemic does push all of us into one corner and make us think hard about what matters most in our lives. Most Malaysians who migrated to Australia remains as Permanent Residents because we do not wish to surrender our Malaysian passports (it is required in the event we are to take up Australian citizenship). Malaysian government does not recognize dual citizenship. It is fine with us as most of us go back at least once a year in the past, we still get to see our family and friends back home regularly. After Covid, the situation has dramatically changed. Not only we can’t go back, there are tons of uncertainty ahead of us. Nobody can confidently say when this is going to end, if it ever ends at all.

Such is the dilemma faced by many who currently reside abroad and found themselves stuck. We can’t help but ponder upon the question whether we made the right decision to migrate in the first place. Sure most of us have valid reasons like children education, better environment to raise family, work-life balance, equality etc. But are the sacrifices we made worth it at the end of the day? Recently these questions sound louder and clearer ever since we found ourselves in this pandemic predicament.

Working From Home

About two years ago I went into a job interview. Towards the end of the interview I was asked if I have any questions about the work or the company. ‘Am I allowed to work from home?’; that’s the only question I was interested at that time to which the manager who interviewed me answered in lightning speed without having to give much thought; a resounding ‘NO.’ I’m still in the same company today but just amaze of the fact that how thing has changed since that reckoning day in that spacious meeting room.

When Covid-19 hit in 2020, ‘Working from Home’ became the normal practice at offices worldwide all of a sudden. The reason most businesses were able to switch to operating from home almost instantly was because of the advance in communication technology of the internet and mobile phones. So the capability was always there but most employers were reluctant to operate in that manner as they didn’t trust their employees will be discipline enough to continue producing work from home. They feared of lower efficiency and productivity might be greatly reduced. But when the government imposed hard lockdown to contain the spread of the virus, working from home became the only option to prevent the economy from total collapse. Ironically, it was this deadly virus that forced all of us to work in a smarter way even though we already have the technology to do so ages ago.

In the past, I never had the chance to drop my 10 year old daughter at school in the morning or walk her home in the afternoon. During the weekdays, I found myself always in a hurry throughout the day, rushing to the gym after work, work out as fast as I can then headed home for dinner. By the time I done all that, I was so exhausted that I have no more energy to spend with my family or reading bible.

Working from home has provided me opportunity to spend more time with my family. Now I can spread out my work and personal life throughout the day more flexibly. I no longer dread driving to office as I have the choice of working from home if I want to. For the first time after coming to Australia 8 years ago, I feel I have finally achieved work-life balance!

I want to thank GOD that I’m one of those lucky people who still enjoy a livelihood at this unprecedented tough period of time. Covid-19 is a wake-up call for all of us to reassess our priorities. It has also presented a rare opportunity for us to reset our lives for the better. I pray for our wisdom to walk on the righteous path and spread hope to every corners of the world.

两年前我去了一场工作面试。当面试快要结束时，那间公司的经理问我对这份工作或这间公司有任何疑问。当时我唯一想到的问题是，“我可以在家工作吗？” 该经理毫无犹豫的回答说：“不行”。今天我仍然还在这间公司上班。

当新冠肺炎在2020年大流行时，“在家工作”突然成为全球办事处的常规做法。大多数企业之所以能够几乎立即转型在家办公，大都因为我们有了先进发达的互联网和手提电话。之前雇主们不愿意以这种方式操作，原因是他们不相信自己员工会有足够的纪律来有效的在家里继续工作。他们担心效率会由此降低，生产率可能会大大减少。但是，当政府决定丰城以遏制病毒传播时，在家工作的模式在一夜之间成为了防止经济全面崩溃的唯一选择。

过去，我从来没有机会早上将10岁的女儿放到学校或下午接她回家。在工作日里，我发现自己整天总是忙个不停，下班后赶往健身房，尽我所能尽快锻炼身体，然后回家吃晚饭。当我完成所有这些事物时，我都已经筋疲力尽了，再也没有精力可以和家人享受天论之乐或阅读圣经。

在家工作为我提供了更多与家人在一起的时间。现在，我可以全天候灵活地分配工作和个人生活。来到澳大利亚八年后，我第一次感受到自己终于实现了工作与生活的平衡！

我要感谢上帝我还有一份工作。这疫情呼吁我们所有人要重新评估我们人生重要的地方。这也是一个难得的机会，让我们的生活更加美好。我祈求我们有智慧走在正义的道路上，并将希望传播到世界每个角落。

How To Avoid Depression When There Is No International Travel

Still can’t believe that we are almost three weeks into 2021. Come 1^st February, we will be marking the first anniversary of Australia’s international border closure. We may have survived 2020 but we are yet out of the woods. This is confirmed by Dr. Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Health Department Chief today. Dr. Murphy foresees that there will be no international travel for Australian in 2021. Although the Australian government has planned to bring forward its vaccination plan to end of February, it does not mean that everything will be back to normal as soon as we put that needle into our arms. Dr. Brendan Murphy based his prediction on scientific ground. He is confident about the effectiveness of the vaccines to prevent us from being infected. However, nobody is currently sure that those who have been vaccinated cannot still infect other people.

It is an understatement to say that I was disappointed when I first read the news. Before Covid-19 hit, I used to travel back to Penang, Malaysia from Melbourne every year. Last year needless to say I was stuck in Australia and now realized that I may have to spend my 2021 Christmas in Melbourne again. If there is one common thing that Covid-19 has done to all our lives is that we can’t make plans anymore.

I’m sure that I’m not alone in this situation. There are lots of other people all around the world being separated from their loved ones thanks to the pandemic. We basically have two choices, one is to feel helpless and depressed, or there is a better way. Instead of focusing on things that we can’t control, why don’t channel our energy onto something we have control of, the way we response to the situation. We can take this opportunity to slow down and ponder upon our lives. Take this extra time that is now made available since we can’t fly to re-prioritize our personal values and goals.

If I have to name one positive thing that comes out of this pandemic, I’ll call it reflection. We now have the luxury of reflecting on ourselves and explore inwards to investigate what our lives are all about. It definitely isn’t about running around like a headless chicken which we used to do daily in pursuit of materialistic goals. For me, I realized that Covid-19 taught me to cherish family even more from now on. It also gives me opportunity to reassess my relationship with others and with GOD.

The reason why depression is common illness in modern times is because people overestimate in themselves and constantly aiming for higher achievements simply because others around them are also doing it. It is this Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) that makes our lives so competitive and stressful. Too much attention has been focused on ourselves and we believe that everything is within our grasp and control. Covid-19 has proved to us that regardless of how positive minded or rich you are, we are all vulnerable when facing this invisible enemy. It turns out that we are not so great and powerful after all.

Christians believe that GOD is the only ONE who has control of everything. Accept that we are vulnerable, start praying and open our ears. You will be surprise what you can hear when you open yourselves up. Whatever your faith is, rest assured that there is a greater force than all of us. Make use of this down time to tap into that universal force and start healing our souls. Stay safe and pray for each other.

我仍然不能相信，我们已经差不多进入2021年的第三个星期了。2021年2月1日将是澳大利亚关闭国际航线的第一周年。我们虽然已辛苦的度过2020年，但我们仍然还没有走出困境。澳大利亚卫生部局长布伦丹·墨菲（Brendan Murphy）博士今天证实了这一点。墨菲博士预测澳大利亚将不会在2021年重新开放国际边界。尽管澳大利亚政府计划将其疫苗接种计划提前到2月底，但这并不意味着一旦我们接种一切就会恢复正常。布伦丹·墨菲（Brendan Murphy）博士的预测基于科学根据。他对疫苗预防我们被感染的有效性充满信心。但是，目前尚无人能确定已接种疫苗的人不会感染其他人。

这新闻令我很失望。在Covid-19之前，我每年圣诞假期都会从墨尔本回到马来西亚的槟城。去年很明显我不能回去，现在看来今年圣诞节又得在澳洲度过了。

我深信我在这种处境下并不孤单。全世界还有更多人被逼与亲人分离。我们基本上有两种选择，一就是感到无助和沮丧。或我们可以将精力集中在我们可以控制的事情上。我们可以借此机会放慢脚步，沉思我们的生活。

我们可以反思自己，并重新探索我们的内心世界。绝对不要再回去我们过去为了追求物质目标而每天迷糊奔波的日子。对我来说，我意识到Covid-19教会我更懂得去珍惜家人。这也使我有机会重新评估我与他人和神之间的关系。

在现代社会中，抑郁症是一种常见疾病，其原因在于人们高估自己的能力，不断追求更高的成就，因为周围的人也是这样做。正是这种对错过的恐惧使我们的生活充满竞争和压力。太多的注意力都集中在自己身上，我们相信一切都在我们的掌握和控制当中。但是Covid-19向我们证明了，无论您有多积极向上或有多富裕，当面对这个无形的敌人时，人人都非常脆弱。事实证明，我们毕竟不是我们想象中的那么伟大。

基督徒相信只有神是唯一能够掌控一切的。我们必须接受我们的脆弱，开始祈祷并睁大耳朵聆听神的话。

Malaysia Lockdown Again

 

Most parts of Malaysia officially enter into Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 today. There are people who are celebrating either because they get an excuse not to work or study. While those group of people who are engaging in online businesses are particularly happy about this since they expect more people to surf the internet while staying at home, consequently becoming their potential customers. At the same time, there are people who feel that the government’s decision is long overdue considering the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak is already more than 3 months old since the Sabah state election at the end of September 2020. They are worry that if no action is taken anytime soon, the current situation may get out of control. Most people are fearful for their lives.

It is particularly worrying when people can see that most of the country’s leaders have no sense of urgency or priority when it comes to tackling this pandemic. They are still politicking for power even up until now. Every politicians tried to beat each other by speaking their minds either on main stream or social media. There is no clear sign of unity. In fact, it looks like we are not in this together. It is as if Malaysia is now one country two worlds. In one world People are fighting for their lives while there is another parallel world where another group of people are plotting and manipulating the system to either stay in power or form a new government.

The situation looks even more worrying when being looked at in the context of the world outside Malaysia. Just heard the news today where World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that herd immunity won’t be achieved in 2021 despite numerous vaccines being rolled out this year. This is because it takes time to administer the vaccines out onto the masses, and we are talking about billions of doses across the globe. Herd immunity is not achievable because not every countries will be able to achieve mass vaccination at the same pace.

So what does this mean for the world? It means we will not see international travel in 2021. The world will be divided, countries will be isolated, people will be separated. There won’t be a global village, instead there will be isolated villages dotting all over the world. 2020 was not the worst, it was just an initial shock to the system. The real test is in the year 2021 and beyond. It is the ultimate test to see how we can persevere in this prolong social separation physically and mentally.

And what does this means for Malaysia? With the ignorance and selfish behaviour shown by most politicians, sadly a lot of lives will be sacrificed. Livelihood will be destroyed as tourists and foreign investments are not forthcoming. The country’s economy will be brought to its knees. What is more worrying is that nobody can confidently say that this will be the worst case scenario. We have never experience this before, no one knows how this is going to end. The endgame can’t be easily predicted.

So whether you welcome or criticize MCO 2.0, let us each do our part to weather this storm and pray that we still can see our loved ones in the end. See you on the other side!

马来西亚大部分地区今天正式进入了行动管制令 MCO 2.0。有些人可能会很开心因为他们不想工作或上课。那些从事网络业务的人对此更加兴奋，因为他们期待更多人待在家里上网，从而最后可能成为他们的客户。同时，有些人认为政府早就该做出这个决定了，因为自从2020年9月底的沙巴州大选以来，第二波Covid-19疫情已经爆发了长达三个多月。他们担心如果再不尽快采取任何行动的话，恐怕当前的情况会失控。到时肯定很多人会不幸的白白丢掉了性命。

到目前为止大多数政治人物还是对着疫情毫不注重，这令人民十分担忧。直到现在，他们仍然忙于在争取权力。每个政客都试图通过主流媒体或社交媒体上发表自私的言论。整个政局有如一盘散沙。

同时，国外的情况似乎更加令人担心。刚刚听到今天的新闻报导，世界卫生组织（WHO）警告说，尽管今年已经推出了许多疫苗，但2021年估计仍无法实现群体免疫的效果。这是因为将疫苗推向大众化还需要花费很多时间。由于每个国家都不能同时间大规模的将疫苗接种， 群体免疫是无法实现的。

这意味着什么？2021年还是不会有国际航线开始启动。这世界将会进一步的被分裂，国家将被孤立，人将面临孤单。2020年并不是最糟糕的一年，它只是一个很重大的警告。真正的考验会在2021年及以后。我们将会面临肢体与精神上的盛大考验。

那这对马来西亚又有什么特别的关系和影响呢？政客们的自私行为将带来许多人民的牺牲。由于失去国外游客和外国投资，马来西亚的经济将受到重大的冲击与考验。

因此，不管您是欢迎还是批评MCO 2.0，让我们每个人都尽自己的一份力量来度过这场风暴，并祈祷我们最终仍能看到我们的亲人。

Gratitude On A Rainy Day

The Covid-19 pandemic has wrecked havoc to the global supply chain. Every corners of the world are experiencing shortage of PPE and other essential items that we used to take for granted. To make matter worse, people rushed to the supermarkets and started hoarding products like toilet papers, pasta and other food supplies. Here in Australia, the government has to constantly reminds the people that supplies are sufficient and advise not to hoard unnecessarily. Seriously, are you going to do your business in the toilets several times a day that you need to stock up one year of supply?

To further complicate the problems we all face, one thing ironically has no shortage during this unprecedented times; that is negativity. We are bombarded with negative news several times a day on a daily basis. People complain about conspiracy theories, reluctant to wear masks, unwilling to isolate etc.

We should instead cultivate the habit of being grateful of what we have. It has been raining the whole day since the morning. Melbourne temperature plunges to below 10 degrees celsius. It is currently sitting at 8 degrees but felt more like 3 degrees when the wind blows. However, I'm grateful that I'm able to stay indoor with my heater on full blast (not that I have a choice to go out during Stage 4 Lockdown anyway). Feel great that I can sit down, quiet my mind and write this block while it is wet and cold outside. Satisfied that I can take a sip of my hot coffee while enjoying the rest of the afternoon.

There are many things around us that we can be grateful of. Start counting our blessing.

Lessons I Learnt From Covid-19

Year 2020 is indeed an extraordinary year. A lot of unexpected events have happened. It was supposed to be the year when Malaysia celebrates the achievement of Vision 2020, but we all know that it didn't realized. We then witnessed the sudden change of government early of the year. Most significantly of all, the world was hit by unprecedented crisis known as Covid-19.

A lot of us have never experience World War I & II in our lifetime. Covid-19 will be the closest experience one can get of living through a war zone liked world. The modern world that we all live in likes to categorize things into different classes. First World Nations vs. Third World Countries; Rich vs. Poor; Democracy vs. Communism etc. One powerful message that this pandemic conveyed to us is that we are all the same after all, we are all vulnerable regardless of your wealth; age or physical fitness. Everyone citizens on earth is still grappling with this pandemic as I am typing these words. No, the virus doesn't discriminate, only human did.

During the period of lock down, I thank GOD for my health and have the rare opportunity to slow down and did some serious thinking. I have come up with a four key points for myself which I think are the real importance stuff in life:

1. Refocus on GOD instead of myself.

Don't you agree that nowadays everyone is only interested in themselves. Just look at all the postings on social medias. It's all about looking at me, like me, me, me and more me. Honestly, who do you focus at every time look at a group photo? Yourself of course! Our over emphasis on ourselves is the main reason why so many people are suffering from anxiety and depression today. Just let it go, look at ourselves in GOD's eye. Focus on Him, we are too small to deserve such attention.

 

2. It's time to stop wasting more time on worry for no obvious reason.

I'm one of those who always worry about anything. I worry about how others will judge my work. I worry about whether my health will deteriorate over (Of course it will! We can't stop the natural process of aging so stop worrying!). I worry about whether I'll still have a job tomorrow (This is universal worry of lots of people especially in this uncertain times). All our worries have one thing in common, they are things that are yet to happen, they are incidents that we imagine in our heads for the future, in other words, they have not happened yet. That day may never come, so why worry? We only have control of the PRESENT which we should be grateful that it is a gift from GOD (See the link here? PRESENT = GIFT).

3. Eat healthy and exercise regularly.

It's hard not to be tempted by all the wonderful food available especially when you grow up in Penang, the de facto Food Capital of Malaysia (some say Asia too). But seriously, if we keep on satisfying just our tongues and neglect about our bodies, our bodies will give up on us.

4. Constantly asking myself this question: 'What really matters in life?' My answer to the question is: 'GOD, Health & Family.'

When you put this in perspective, you will realize that we wasted too much time on things that don't really matter. Just think about it, what are some of the things that you are proud of doing today? Isn't it scary when the answer echoes back in your mind is 'NONE'? 

Start claiming back your life. This pandemic shows us that this has now become the most urgent thing to do!